Wednesday, February 27, 2013

This is a government that is more engaged in butt coverage and damage control then they are in providing real answers and accountability. In fact I see them deflecting some of the responsibility that they need to be taking.Trent Wotherspoon, MLASask NDP Leadership Candidate

A Saskatchewan science project that developed what was hailed as the
first guidelines in the world for safe carbon capture and storage is on
the verge of shutting down.Funding is running out for the University of Regina-based
International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of CO2,
known as IPAC-CO2.And Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday that it could be "wound up.""They've done some great work," Wall said at the legislature. "We
wanted to lead in terms of the standards of CO2 storage and because of
the work that's been done, we have those standards today.""There might be some wind-up dollars required," he added. "I think
we'll look at that in terms of the budget, but I don't think there's a
need to continue because the work's been completed."IPAC-CO2 was created in 2008 when the province and Royal Dutch Shell
each put up $5 million over a five-year period. The federal government
also contributed $4 million.Carbon capture and storage involves gathering CO2 (or carbon dioxide)
from power plants and refineries and injecting it deep into porous
rock.The goal is to prevent the gas from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.Jurisdictions such as Saskatchewan that rely heavily on coal-fired
power plants need carbon capture and storage to work. But the technology
has been panned as unproven and critics say not enough is known about
the consequences.Last November, the centre released guidelines on the best way to store carbon dioxide underground so it doesn't get back out.IPAC also investigated claims from a Saskatchewan couple
that CO2 from an oil company's carbon capture operation was leaking on
their family farm near Weyburn. The centre determined that the company
was not the source of gas found on Cameron and Jane Kerr's farm.But the organization has been under scrutiny over concerns surrounding a contract for IT services that wasn't tendered.When it was starting up, the centre, under management by employees of
the University of Regina, got into a sole-sourced IT deal with Climate
Ventures Inc.Following a forensic investigation by Myers Norris Penny, the president of the university — Vianne Timmons — said some employees had not reported a conflict of interest.CBC Saskatchewan